…simply captured

Author: dawnblanchard

We had had freezing rain the day before, and the angle of the sun was lighting up the thousands of tiny frozen drops. I hadn’t even noticed at first, having had my coffee and done some marking for school. Then, when I was doing dishes, I looked out the window and it was simply magical. I immediately dried my hands and grabbed my camera.

The trees were glistening in the light, but the first few shots I made didn’t truly capture how gorgeous they were. After a few sharply focused shots, I decided to try something a little different.

These photos better captured the feeling of the moment. It was truly magical.

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When the months get colder and the snow has covered summer’s garden, I shop for inspiration.

Inexpensive supermarket flowers make for many photos. I could not stop taking pictures of this pretty bouquet that I picked up the other day.

They didn’t look like much, stuck in a vase. Some of the petals were curled and withered from the plastic wrap, and a few leaves torn. They weren’t perfect, but when I rearranged them in the bright afternoon sunlight, they made for some beautiful compositions.

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Wind, rain, cold – they don’t stop me. Only when the snow covers the ground for the winter and makes climbing down to my favourite beach treacherous do I stop for the season.

On this bright, crisp, sunny day I dressed in layers and headed out. I had checked the tide times, packed my bucket and my camera, and carried a snack in case I got hungry. This time, I even remembered to pack tissue – if anything can send me home early, it’s that or the lack of a bathroom.

I expected to be alone on this chilly day, but when I arrived, a couple was already there. With a bucket. A large bucket.

My heart sank.

No doubt they were searching for sea glass.

I took a breath and went down anyway, hoping they hadn’t cleaned it out. It took seconds to realize they were serious sea glass hunters, however. The tracks always tell: footprints woven up and down the shoreline showed they had covered every inch.

Sighing, I decided to make the best of it. I had my camera, after all, and it was a beautiful day for a walk.

I didn’t find much sea glass.

What I did find was a tiny plastic cactus, swept up the beach by the tide. I couldn’t resist a few shots of it standing on the sand, the irony of a cactus seaside not lost on me.

The cactus stands on my kitchen windowsill, now. A reminder that sometimes things don’t go as planned, but if I keep my eyes open, I might find a fun little unexpected detail.

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Speaking of letting go, it seems that it’s time for me to move on from the challenge I created for myself.

At the start of the year, I was feeling stuck with my photography, and so I made up a mindfulness challenged that aligned with my yoga practice and allowed me opportunities to “focus” on my photography.

It started off well.

Midway through, however, I got stuck in a different way. I was inspired once again with my photography, but sticking with the challenge turned out to be, well, challenging.

For the last couple of months, I have had my list out on my desk, hoping to get back to it. However, instead of helping me to write, it stalled me completely.

This morning, I am moving on. I am letting go of the challenge, and returning to my write-when-the-inspiration-arises format of this blog.

After all, it served its purpose. And some writing is better than no writing at all.

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How could I show “Letting Go” in an image? The only thing I could come up with at first was capturing petals dropping from flowers, or the typical dandelion seeds picked up by the breeze.

But I wanted something different, something more.

This image of a white picket fence, captured through an antique window, is more apt.

It is the dream of white picket fences, the North American ideal. It is the dream of perfection.

But life isn’t like that. At some point, we have to let go of that aspiration of perfection, and instead strive for what is perfect for us. It may not be 2.5 children in a 1.5 story house with an expanse of land and a tire swing in an apple tree. Letting go can be freeing: It opens us up to new possibilities of perfect. Letting go of expectations lets us embrace the unexpected.

While practicing using my neutral density filter, I left my camera focused on the pool for a few minutes to go help my son clean the car. I had just tripped the shutter on a 30-second exposure when he called for me.

My daughter, thinking she’d be funny, attempted to capture a selfie on my camera while I was gone.

The stillness of the shot captured her movement in front of the camera, a faint purple haze in front of the pool.

When I was choosing a photo for this entry, my initial thought was to use this first image, as I felt it showed stillness well:

However, it occurred to me that the challenge of being still is to accept the constant movement surrounding us. Instead of ruining the image, my daughter inadvertently created a metaphor.

Nothing – not even stillness – is perfect. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

#createmindfulness2017

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Around here, it is not unusual to see ATVs rolling by at the beach. The expanse of shoreline and lack of crowds make it possible to travel the shoreline this way. For a moment, the quiet of the beach might be interrupted by the passing of a driver; however, it is a moment only and I have yet to witness anything less than respect in this activity.

Wet sand lends itself to changes in texture. These tire tracks are probably gone now, washed away by the tide. If I hadn’t been paying attention, I might have missed the intricate pattern created by this brief moment.

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I could have chosen many images to represent home: our house full of our memories; the soothing beaches we’ve spent hours on searching for treasures; the house I grew up in; the people who make this place feel like home: or any of the scenic spots surrounding this beautiful city.

Any of these, alone, seems inadequate to represent the feelings of comfort and community that come from having a history in a place, when thinking of the city we live in.

It is equally challenging to place the entire meaning of home in our house; we’ve moved several times and each one felt like home.

Home is more than a place: It is family and ftiends and shared stories and a sense of safety. It is where our past meets our present. It is an intangible feeling of being at home, a feeling of belonging.

While waiting for the Canada Day fireworks, we spotted this beautiful rainbow over the water. The light was mesmerizing. I decided to use this picture to represent home because it is warmth, beauty, and wonder – just like home.